[WillieB]

Yep, those are the stock pads.

Really? So the "perf pads for open and solid pads for closed" rule is broken?

 

[heliosphann]

Really? So the "perf pads for open and solid pads for closed" rule is broken?

Yes. It's pretty on par for course the way 2023 is shaping up!

 

[Failed Engineer]

Looks like I won't be escaping Canjam this year without another purchase...

Are you going to pair a Macassar AC with your Macassar AO? I'd be envious then. I want one but alas will not be attending Canjam!

 

[goldwerger]

Are you going to pair a Macassar AC with your Macassar AO? I'd be envious then. I want one but alas will not be attending Canjam!

That sounds like a pretty amazing pairing....

 

[Saberpunch]

yes, very good eyes.. those are thin Caldera lamb pads. I will try to also share some (minimal pad swapping) impressions

Nice, that's a pretty good mix-up. I remember trying the Caldera Cowhide pads in the ATH-L3000 which was close-back and I enjoyed it more than I quite expected. Bass enjoyment increased dramatically, but the trade off was a decrease in vocal enjoyment for me. I remember I didn't enjoy the Caldera thin pad on the L3000, but don't remember the specifics of why. Maybe with the Close-back Atrium and Atrium is known for its liquid midrange, the thin Caldera pads might have some magical pairing that the L3000 doesn't get. Glad to see Zach going with the Caldera pads as stock (or at least seeing you try them with the Atrium Close Back) because honestly, the Caldera pads were my favorite feature from the Caldera. The Caldera itself was a fantastic headphone, but the Caldera pad was such a game changer for my entire Headphone collection that I put that schiit on everything

 

[JackarlTwo]

Unless I'm wrong the pads are not fully perforated. The outside is perforated while the inside is solid, so the Atrium Closed will have a completely different set of pads. I swear I saw Zach talk about it in a live stream a while ago but I could be wrong

 

[goldwerger]

Nice, that's a pretty good mix-up. I remember trying the Caldera Cowhide pads in the ATH-L3000 which was close-back and I enjoyed it more than I quite expected. Bass enjoyment increased dramatically, but the trade off was a decrease in vocal enjoyment for me. I remember I didn't enjoy the Caldera thin pad on the L3000, but don't remember the specifics of why. Maybe with the Close-back Atrium and Atrium is known for its liquid midrange, the thin Caldera pads might have some magical pairing that the L3000 doesn't get. Glad to see Zach going with the Caldera pads as stock (or at least seeing you try them with the Atrium Close Back) because honestly, the Caldera pads were my favorite feature from the Caldera. The Caldera itself was a fantastic headphone, but the Caldera pad was such a game changer for my entire Headphone collection that I put that schiit on everything

Not to veer to much off topic, I use the ZMF Universe Lambskin Solid with the L3000 and highly recommend it. Give it a try some time..

 

[goldwerger]

Unless I'm wrong the pads are not fully perforated. The outside is perforated while the inside is solid, so the Atrium Closed will have a completely different set of pads. I swear I saw Zach talk about it in a live stream a while ago but I could be wrong

Correct. The Caldera pads are perforated on the outside and head-facing rims, and solid on the inside rims

 

[JackarlTwo]

Correct. The Caldera pads are perforated on the outside and head-facing rims, and solid on the inside rims

Oh right. I forgot the Caldera pads are solid on the inside.

 

[Saberpunch]

Unless I'm wrong the pads are not fully perforated. The outside is perforated while the inside is solid, so the Atrium Closed will have a completely different set of pads. I swear I saw Zach talk about it in a live stream a while ago but I could be wrong

I see, so the Caldera pads won't be the stock pads. Do you remember if Zach said he going to use one of the existing ZMF pads as stock or create a new pad entirely just for the Atrium Close-back?

 

[goldwerger]

I see, so the Caldera pads won't be the stock pads. Do you remember if Zach said he going to use one of the existing ZMF pads as stock or create a new pad entirely just for the Atrium Close-back?

No new pads.. simply, Caldera pads..

 

[Saberpunch]

No new pads.. simply, Caldera pads..

Wait, so the Caldera pads are going to be the stock pads for the Atrium Close-back

 

[omega1990]

Finally the atrium closed is more officially revealed. I've been very anxious to learn more about this one specifically since hearing the original atrium. Can't wait to compare this one to the rest of the dynamic zmfs.

 

[heliosphann]

Wait, so the Caldera pads are going to be the stock pads for the Atrium Close-back

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zmf...-back-headphone-from-zmf.966989/post-17412524

 

[zach915m]

OKOKOK so I took some measurements from the final Canjam sets. Here's some graphs and quick thoughts to help. All taken on BK 5128 with DF weighting unless stated.

First - Atrium Closed VS Verite Closed


AC kind of zigs where the VC zags - very similar to the open versions. I will talk a lot coming up about my choices coming up at some point. The Atrium closed definitely sounds a lot like well, a closed version of the Atrium. So if you like the Atrium a lot and wanted one with isolation and more sub-bass, that's how these sound.

And yes - I did at a point almost exactly tune AC like the Atrium open just to F around and find out - and I gave up on that, it sounded really bad, as one VERY important note to make is that you can't tune an open and closed headphone the same - to get the same perceived response. I don't know if there's research on this yet, but I've done it with all our closed vs open options, the perception and HRTF you get from the same response in open and closed backs is just not the same. So in AC VS AO tuning, they look different, but are perceived closer than they are. I will post much more on this later.

Also the AC damping system is ADS (Atrium Damping System,) but the ADS system for closed backs is slightly different than the open, and much harder to implement and perfect because of the closed chamber. Much of our time over the past year was spent perfecting this for production and repeatability.

AC_Suede Caldera (dotted) VS Thin Caldera (solid)


AC Suede auteur Pads (dotted) vs Caldera Thin Pads (solid)



The Caldera pads with their solid interior act a lot like solid pads but with more graduated slow dissipation of airflow. It really helps the high frequencies. The auteur pads are a good alternative, but the Caldera pads sound better IMHO. You can get a touch more isolation if you go to an all solid pad, but really not much because the interior wall is solid, and pertains mostly to isolation.

Atrium Closed VS Harman Target (uncompensated) - this is with Caldera suede, Caldera Thin are bassier by about 2 dB


I think most people know I am not a Harman Target follower, nor a dissenter. I am a "every driver and system has its course" er. BUT - while working on Atrium closed and knowing I wanted a headphone with more sub-bass a-la Eikon - it made a lot of my tuning choices be to get the "node" of the bass lower. You might notice that the baffle and cup of the headphone are VERY closed with little airflow, while the main airflow is through the Caldera pads. This is what helped bring the node of the bass down to about 50 Hz. So you get a fairly laid back sound with a little something up top and none of that "Harman Hash" that can come from adhering to the Harman curve in the 2-3KHZ area which I always prefer to end up in this area.

So anyways - I guess if you believe in the Harman curve, this may be the ZMF for you, or at least the closest one to it if you like how it looks on graphs and all that.

And yes these are the same driver as in Atrium open. It's 300 ohms, adjusts to your chain and so on.